Astronomers Guilt

[Bart]

Racked with guilt this morning. Lovely clear skies last night but just couldn't do it. Lates on thur and Fri nights as skies were clear and dark. Good sessions. Just couldn't motivate myself. Even spotted Jupiter high in the morning sky at 5.30 (light sleeper!) but couldn't do it. I frequently find that a 3rd or 4th session in a row is too much. Does this mean I'm not a dedicated amateur astronomer, and am only in the ha'penny place?

Barry

[jason.p]

I know what you mean. I find it difficult to get out after a hard day. I just remind myself that the stars will be there long after we're gone, and after all it is a hobby not an obligation. Having said that I went out for the first time for a while last night, just to check out the set up etc for a short time. Two hours later (having given up the struggle against the dew:() I came back in with my enthusiasm relit.

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[ronl]

Jason.P is right it's not an obligation, it's a hobby, and work

must come first, it won't be long before it get's dark earlier,

you will get all the observing you can get and only stay up

later when you can, if you haven't got work the next day.

Lot's of people don't bother with their scopes during the

summer months,

[foundaplanet]

Racked with guilt this morning. Lovely clear skies last night but just couldn't do it. Lates on thur and Fri nights as skies were clear and dark. Good sessions. Just couldn't motivate myself. Even spotted Jupiter high in the morning sky at 5.30 (light sleeper!) but couldn't do it. I frequently find that a 3rd or 4th session in a row is too much. Does this mean I'm not a dedicated amateur astronomer, and am only in the ha'penny place?

Barry

It probably means that you have a life... I'm with you in Ha'penny Place I get out when it suits not because I feel I should.

[Russe]

I know what you mean! Am so guilty after last night. Worked the whole Saturday on data for a publication and then finally had some wine to cool off. By the time I realised its clear skies, I was into my third glass... Not an option then to do astro!

[JamesF]

I was tempted not to go out last night, having been out visiting friends earlier in the evening. It was such a gorgeous night though that I ended up staying out until tiredness was making my skin itch and eventually crawled into bed at about 3:30am. Not feeling desperately sharp this morning, mind

James

[RikM]

I am finding it less inviting to go out since moving to a house with more direct LP. I was rather spoilt by our last place That said, I went out for a few hours last night and had a really good session.

[Pig]

I find binoculars are great placebo for what your feeling, there is no set up time and you don't need a plan to find any given set of objects, you can simply just look up and be in awe at the wonder of it all. especially when it was as clear as it was last night.

[Mrlangston]

My young children tend to ruin any plans that I want to make as bedtimes can be unpredictable and there is no guarantee of sleep the rest of the night. (still love them though!) I agree that binoculars can be a good solution to an observing fix and as said above, it is a hobby so just enjoy the times that you are able to get out and the even rarer times when there are no clouds!

Michael

[L8-Nite]

This is a hobby after all, not work, so why should you feel guilty ?

A member on another site says it best, it goes something like this.......

If your not having fun in this hobby, then you are not doing it right.

Edit: spelling error.

[Bart]

It's even worse now as it was as clear as a bell last night. Had to get to bed early as today's first day back to work after a week off!

Forecast does look good for the coming week though. Might even get up a bit early to catch Jupiter as its nice and high in the mornings.

Barry

[kirkster501]

I feel like this sometimes too and agree its silly since its a passtime and not a firm commitment as others have said. What amplifies the feeling though is that clear nights are so rare in this country in recent years that one feels guilty for missing them. If we had more clear nights I would not give a hoot.

[nightfisher]

I miss a lot of opportunities as i do a lot of early starts, and due to light pollution i have to travel to a dark site to look at anything other than luna, i am so looking forward to the long winter nights

[Demonperformer]

Totally agree with previous posters. If you start doing it because you feel obliged, you are going to stop enjoying it at all. If I want to go out (and it's clear) I do. If I don't, then why should I set up, stand around in the cold and not enjoy myself?

Don't beat yourself up about it.

[stevetynant]

I stopped playing golf partly for the same reason - any spare time I disappeared to the golf course but in the end I forgot the reason why I was doing it as I hacked about in the long stuff and it certainly wasn't for the enjoyment I was getting. If you keep records of the observable nights we have had this year you'll find things are nowhere near as bad as people portray them so there'll always be another chance and as has previously been mentioned the Universe is not going anywhere in a hurry so why beat yourself up about it.

[paulastro]

A PST is a good observing fix if you can't make it out at night for a while, lots of action on the Sun!

[jezhughes]

I used to feel bad but i always tell myself space isn't going anywhere and it will mostly all look exactly the same for decades to come, so i'll still hopefully have the chance to do this for the next 40-50 years It's a forgiving hobby in that respect

I do believe though the more you put in to it the more you get out, so under that ethos, if i want to grab a great image or spend a long time collecting data, i use that to motivate myself to get out.

[jonathan]

I got up for an unscheduled wee at about 3am and looked out of the window to see the most beautiful blue-upon-blue stars shining so brightly just from the bathroom skylight, could see the milky way and everything, I instantly felt guilty about not being out there! But 3am on a work night is not really the time to be thinking about setting up a scope. There is definitely something magical about that middle-of-the-night trip to the bathroom without turning on any lights, a special moment to enjoy the stars from the comfort of one's own bathroom.

[Stargazer_00]

If you go out only once a year for the test of your life and that keeps you happy then it's worth it. enjoy it. its not a job

[Beulah]

It’s not wise to go out there and observe when you are tired!

I was out there last night to the wee small hours and it’s not a good idea standing on a 3 step ladder when it is hard to hold yourself up! Plus the fact my eyes can’t focus properly…

As many have said already, just go out there when you feel like it. :-) It's a rotten feeling when you wake up to a clear blue sky but it seems this year in my locality there have been tons of opportunities to grab some clear skies.

[wookie1965]

I looked at the weather forecast for last night said cloudy my forecast is usually right settled in reading Dan Brown gets to 12 midnight cat wants go out im tired lets cat out and steps out in my back yard and guess what the clearest sky Ive seen for weeks im sure i could see a hint of the milky way and from my LP area that's good didn't have time get scope out just got binoculars out and wow. Now this morning im regretting it im sat here thinking i should have got scope out M31 was perfectly positioned high up in the east.

[Stargazer_00]

In fairness waking up to a clear blue sky with the sun shining is never a bad thing. Not many things rival that to get you off on the right footing for the day ahead.

[Kropster]

Do it for enjoyment. No need to feel guilty as there will always be another night to use all that expensive gear.

If you want to put your feet up with a glass of wine and watch X-Factor, then that is ok.

[Nathan_Pembs]

There have been times when it's been clear and I've been just too tired after work or had intentions to go out, got the gear ready and fallen asleep....now that's annoying lol I don't feel guilty for not going out because I know there'll be other nights, if anything if it's been a while I feel "rusty" and set up feels very new and takes a bit longer. I went out last night, turned the Synscan handset on and the last time I'd been out was the 19th July!! The clouds have been that bad down here.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Do it for enjoyment. No need to feel guilty as there will always be another night to use all that expensive gear.

If you want to put your feet up with a glass of wine and watch X-Factor, then that is ok.

I'd rather be outside staring at grey clouds.